Gunpla is going nowhere good.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Bandai's recent announcements stirred up some thoughts that I wanted to share. I hope my sentiments don't upset anyone. If the discourse here becomes too chaotic, I'll disable the comments.

[@dsleong8328]

No need to disable comment, as a avide plamo kit builder especially the gunpla for over a decade now,i already seen the downfall of bandai with ever expensive kit that not that technology advance as they're a decade ago,also when the recent tamashii nation announcement has fk ton of release which i rather they're just plastic kit but no they're not gonna do that so that's basically calling us to shift toward other brand than bandai because they don't have much to offer now in term their release and feature where they're praise highly before,that excitement has really drop alot before a decade ago

[@MrGrandure]

​@@dsleong8328agreed. Do not disable the comments. This is a dialog that needs to be had.

[@curiouscarlo7276]

Listen, you are telling what you feel and you are worried for the hobby

[@RWnope]

My absolute crackpot theory is that the building of the new factory has slowed down the production of new kits while it's still tooling up and training new staff. So maybe in late 2025 or mid 2026 kit releases will be more normalized. However I do know this is a lot of wishful thinking. Here's hoping things do get better and not just spiral more price gouging.

[@Viper-jr4sp]

@@narutoman876 yeah the last few older kits i'm glad they gave a chance for me to get was the MG Rick Dias and just over a week ago the MG Gundam G04 but i'm wishing they would do is the Old MG GM Custom Quel Kai and other early 2000s kits

[@Viper-jr4sp]

@ oh yeah the OYW RX-78-2 would be nice like those kits are regular release kits so you would think at some point they would reprint them sure it’s easier for them to make the HG versions which are nice but i would like a bigger version of the GM Kai and the frame of it is based off the first Gundam Ver Ka from 2002 which came out after the GM Kai so surely they could reprint it easily

[@MTG9745]

Bandai is building a new factory? That's news to me.. just checked reddit and it looks like a post was made 3 years ago saying Bandai was building a new factory for the increased demand in gundam kits. Someone under that post said they're expecting the factory to being operations "in 2024" so it's likely been in operation for a bit now unless of course it's experienced delays.

[@GundamEnvy]

It's worth noting, a lot of this doesn't apply if you are a new builder (assuming you started recently or have only built a handful of kits) there is more than enough gunpla out there already for this to be your hobby for at least a decade! videos like this are important mainly for the rest of us (and future you) but don't let it discourage you for now :D

[@DJTempa]

I am new!

[@slowmodo]

W

[@Schnagaclwag]

My main problem with bandai not releasing more kits is just their absolute incapability to give people something they want. A lot of people want WfM master grades or even just full mechanics models. A lot of people want updates for older kits eg. MG kampfer, MG gouf custom etc. I get that designing a master grade kit is time consuming but they had a lot of time to do so, but it seems like they don't even try. Even the frequency of reprinting the existing kits seems lazy.

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

The mg gouf 2.0 exists, so why doesn't bandai base the gouf custom off of that

[@milktenders6219]

To be fair, Bandai is a Japanese company, who are historically hyper resistant to any change, and they’re also incapable of listening to fans. The amount of times people have said “MG G Self” for the new Ver Ka is crazy, considering every Ver Ka since that has been something completely different (and also UC)

[@armorman5563]

@@milktenders6219 lucky mg series seed,oo series don't have ver ka...... maybe soon omg

[@armorman5563]

@@flamestoyershadowkill sure...soon on list premium bandai💆

[@kidrobot.]

they just had reprints of build fighters and ibo. and they just bought a big factory for more machines to make kits. also, they have plenty of mgs but hgs are the best sellers so they will stick with that for the most part

[@arcticarduino]

Not a non-Tomino Gundam person, but that Blue IBO guy is something that should've existed maybe 2 months after the original Barbatos released, if Bandai liked money we would be up to our necks in IBO MGs in 2024. Those 00 MGs were on track to have their final release be a MGEX of the main suit to round off that set but Bandai manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and seems to quietly shelf the MGEX Subline after two releases. Perfect Grades are seemingly not up to Bandai's standard for the absolute pinnacle of Gunpla so they introduce PGU so they can release even less models in that grade, RGs dabble into 2.0s just clog the potential release pipeline a little more. MGSDs.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Speaking of, we're only two weeks away from MGSD Wing Zero, yet the product page still shows only CGs and not an actual built model. Same with Bolinoak Sammahn. RG 2.0 was also disappointing to me in the same way as for you: We're 14 years past the original RG and I don't even know how many RG Zaku variants, but still no RG GM... There's such a vast catalog of mobile suits-some with very unique designs and potentially broad appeal!-that never saw the light of day when Bandai was still more "generous." And I wonder if some of them may have missed their time to shine, or even if their day will ever come.

[@arcticarduino]

@@citrusjuicebox ZZ mooks like the Jamru Fin, Ga-Zowmn, Geymalk are probably not happening anytime soon. HGUC should be Bandai's bread and butter line that they can always fall back on, it feels unreal to see it has become a 1-2 release per year subline.

[@smoldream2908]

Funny story about the MG Gundam Vidar, there’s a Bandai US guy in the r/Gunpla server who said that the Vidar was in the works since soon after Barbatos released in 2020 but it was so severely delayed by the pandemic that it only now saw the light of day. I do wonder how many kits this has happened to, or that still remain in that void

[@citrusjuicebox]

My boy MG GN-XIV has been in the hole since 2010 along with HG GN Flag...

[@vm_duc]

​​@@smoldream2908 nope, no, i'm not buying it. you can count the number of regular MG releases from 2020 to 2024 on two fucking hands. one, if you don't count the ver.ka kits. there's no fucking way the vidar is a 4-year delay. for fuck's sake, it's the same goddamn barbatos frame with blue armor on! that took four fucking years?

[@5897932141592653]

As an EU collector, the heavier focus on P-Bandai for releasing BRAND NEW MOLDS was the point where I finally realised Bandai was not interested in my money anymore. I'm somewhat of an impulse buyer, and having to plan purchases 9-12 months in advance on third-party websites is too much of a hassle. Their focus has always been and will always be Japan/SE Asia of course, but I could still do with HLJ, Amiami, Hobbysearch etc. Nowadays, only HLJ gets stuff and even then in meager quantities (still waiting for my 2 33MM Armored core kits frorm them that I ordered the second they were up for preorder). Honestly I'm just tired of jumping through hoops and waiting on orders for stuff I used to be able to buy and get delivered from Japan to my house in 5 days. And I haven't even brought up the price factor in all this : being EU based, I have to pay the expensive P-Bandai kits, third-party fee, shipping costs, and import duties. Shit gets expensive. The only kit I'd be interseted in buying nowadays is an MG GP03S 2.0 or more Turn-A qtuff, but lord knows neither or those are happening, just more SEED slop. Anyway sorry for yapping, glad someone else is talking about this downward trend. Fuck preorder culture and fuck artificial scarcity.

[@citrusjuicebox]

You're absolutely right. For all the "world" this and "global" that in Bandai's marketing, they certainly don't act like they care that much about access at all anymore. In a strange way, gunpla felt more fair in the days before PB, when _everyone_ had a hard time finding the rare stuff, which, while cool, never gatekept any unique molds.

[@5897932141592653]

@@citrusjuicebox I remember like a year ago at the largest convention in France Bandai had a panel where they were so proud to annouce that Premium Bandai was gonna be available in Europe so I decided to check it out, they straight-up had like 4 kits on there, it was worse than not having access to the service. I just checked it out, it ALREADY cooked. here's what it says: "Important notice: temporary suspension of service To prepare and provide a more satisfying shopping experience, we will be temporarily suspending our service during the following period. Effective date: January 21st 5PM~ (CET), 2025 This temporary suspension of service is expected to take around one year, however, we kindly ask for your understanding that the schedule is subject to change. If you have any orders waiting to be shipped, rest assured, it will be shipped accordingly." This is the exact shit they did in the early 2000s, they released a few 1/144 Wing and 1 or 2 MGs (for some reason??? I remember seeing a MG zeta 1.0 int the toy isle when I was like 6 or 7), then some 1/144 no grade seed and then they pulled out of the market a year later. Bandai's motto : barely try, give up, repeat.

[@Herr_Gamer]

Even when they do throw Europe a bone, it’s only ever France. It’s even worse in a non-EU European country, I can barely afford shipping from european based stores, officially licensed or not

[@StationSquare.]

“still waiting for my 2 33MM Armored core kits from them that I ordered the second they were up for preorder” Same. I pre-ordered two back in April and I’ve not got them yet. I probably won’t have them by the end of the year.

[@kuba6160]

@@Herr_Gamer And they are shutting down European P-Bandai in january for an entire year, maybe they will open it up to rest of EU after but for all we know they could just not reopen ever again.

[@mikoyan31BM]

welp I guess gundam will end up like bionicle from savior to a dead man edit: btw this channel is so underrated

[@citrusjuicebox]

Kopaka was my jam

[@Bionickpunk]

OMG, why are all my Robot themed franchises mistreated so poorly? I moved to Gundam cause Lego terribly mishandled G2 Bionicle, so Gunpla was a natural transition...until pandemic hit and collecting kits got harder than ever.

[@zangetsu27]

Assuming that they couldnt make any new and good content in a form of anime (their form of commercial), they could easily die as u said. But it does seems like they are reducing the fund for their anime product with just a movie (seed) and short series (battlelogue) and not for a proper series. I was even surprised wfm only got a 24 ep and was expecting more from it.

[@douggoins2960]

That's why I like doing custom builds. It helps keep things fresh, imo. I try to have a few different projects going on at the same time. Mainly because I can work on something different each time I sit down to do some building

[@YarugumaSou]

To me it really feels like the last time gunplas were truly in full on passionate mode was the first Gundam Build Fighters.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Yes, that was right around 2013 to 2014. I'd say you're spot-on.

[@damiannguyen9195]

I have a lot of personal grievances with Bandai's current trajectory right now, but let me play the Devil's advocate for a little bit first, at least when it comes to how they're dealing with older kits. A lot of the things I say here are also not very well-researched and are mostly guesses and speculations. I'm also not gonna talk about P-Bandai and exclusive, since that's not exactly a new issue. It has just gotten worse The first thing is, this might be a hot take, but I generally don't mind the increased product price too much. The JPY has not been in a very good place for the last few years value-wise, and taking elements like global inflation and raw material to manufacture plastic into consideration, the few hundred JPYs Bandai is asking doesn't seem too egregious to me. I will try to find the article and post the link here, but I remember recently Bandai made an official announcement on how the price to produce ABS is skyrocketing, which I have no doubt played a big part in this price increase news. I think sometimes we have taken the fact that Bandai has almost never increased the pricing on reissued kits, whether they were produced 20 years ago or just 2, a bit for granted. The 800 JPY that is enough to get a HGUC Z'Gok simply isn't worth the same in 2024 as it used to be in the early 2000s. Of course, this sucks from a consumer standpoint since the absolute reliability of Gunpla prices is one of the big things I appreciate about this sub-space of toy collecting hobby more than many others, but I've always felt it's not exactly sustainable from the business standpoint. I am in the Transformers collecting space and I can tell you the increase in pricing of Gunpla feels quaint in comparison. If anything, I'm surprised that they didn't already do this during the pandemic. Second of all, despite the lack of new kits announced, I am extremely pleased to see them trying to reissue more kits recently. Ever since this April, there have been dozens to even hundreds of older and long unproduced kits finally getting back into circulation every month. As someone who loves 00 but couldn't complete even the main Gundams since their last reissue dated back years ago, I appreciate this change. Many kits from Age, Build Fighters, and HGUC Zeta that used to be hard to find are now finally available and easily accessible again. This is the website that I reference for reissues on the JP side, and it matches up with preorders at many stores in the US quite well: kaigoshinootakunaburogu.com/gunpla-plasticmodel-resale-2024november With that said, I do agree that the current trajectory of Gunpla hasn't looked very good lately. I already have quite a few personal grievances without even the need to look at next year's (lack of) releases. 2024 is absolutely dominated by the HG Seed Freedom kits when it comes to Gunpla. I have one or two kits from the line but as someone who's not a Seed fan in particular, the lack of variety is absolutely felt, and with ANOTHER Seed project coming up, I don't think this trend will stop anytime soon. You can say they are not really made for me, and I think it's at least good new kits are being produced (the fact we have a bunch of new Seed kits every year already aside), but I wouldn't be upset and more willing to give them a try if their prices aren't atrocious. A HG line with the average kit costing 2800 JPY and the cheapest ones at 2400 is just crazy, and I don't think half of them justify their asking price. Another problem is I think Bandai is really stretching themselves too thin. If we look outside of Gunpla and at the whole plamo department as a whole, there are at least 5-6 other lines of products that they're also running simultaneously. There are 30-Minute Missions, 30-Minute Sisters, and 30-Minute Fantasy, totaling 3 lines of kits under the 30-Minute label (4 if you count the Armored Core 6 kits as a subline itself). There are also the Figurise Yugioh kits, taking the place of the Digimon kits they've been doing since 2020, an entire branch of HG dedicated to making updated kits from non-Gundam mecha shows like Votoms and Macross, and possibly something else I'm forgetting about. As a whole, the number of new kits per year being produced didn't really change much, but the number of Gunpla products being released and their overall substance are taking a hit. I think it's great that Bandai Hobby is branching out but recently it has been feeling like they are losing track of their focus lineup being Gunpla. Overall, I am not as pessimistic about Gunpla as a whole as you are, but I am certainly not feeling the same excitement in the hobby as I used to have before, and I'm certainly not having that high of hopes for the later half of 2025 either. At least they're finally giving me the MG Vidar and the HGUC Psycho MK-II, and I'd be personally fairly satisfied if those are the only 2 new kits I'm getting next year.

[@Anugrah_Amriza]

As a Southeast Asian aka one of Bandai's second market after Japan and China, I am disappointed that Bandai decided to throw the G-Fans like me to the curb. Like, There's almost no upgrades nor even reuse of some parts to create a 1.5 of a kit. That thing I am talking about is the RG Build/Try Burning Gundam. Like, Bandai could do it, they just decided not to. That's why I am disappointed.

[@maweitao]

It's almost surreal how closely this echoes my feelings. I got into the hobby about 8 years ago on the tail end of the heyday, endured the scalping hellscape of COVID and gradually grew tired of Bandai's antics. Third party kits and girlpla kept me engaged for a while longer but ultimately I lost motivation. I still get the occasional urge to build but I've got too much else going on. So of course I'm sitting on a backlog of my own. There was a local gunpla shop that mirrored my path through the hobby. The place thrived for a while but got screwed hard by Bandai's shifting strategy and P-Bandai in particular. The owner had a hard time getting his hands on the few new kits that got standard releases. He tried diversifying but the writing was on the wall and the shop closed its doors for good this past September. It was telling that he struggled to unload inventory even with big discounts because turns out that people aren't really interested in 15 year old high grades. Honestly, I could be here all day complaining about this stuff but my hot take is that the community itself is at least partially complicit in enabling Bandai's behavior.

[@citrusjuicebox]

The year or two of PB "drops" instantly selling out definitely helped push us in this direction. And now PB is in the same boat, with unmoving in-stock inventory and pre-orders that stay open for even weeks or months at a time. Even now, PB' IG is still trying just to hype, hype, hype. And it's getting old.

[@Benjinator12]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Over the last couple of years, Bandai has been putting all of their effort into making Gundam a "globally-recognized IP" instead of making products. I guess they think if they build enough statues and have enough Miku concerts in the Metaverse then people will talk about them like they do Star Wars, Marvel, or One Piece... or hell, even Transformers. But it's come at the cost of the actual driver of engagement with their IP: product. I don't know a single Gundam fan who doesn't either build Gunpla or collect figures. Some people get excited for a new Gundam series *specifically because* they are interested in what new kits will come out of it. At a time when modelling and miniatures are gaining in popularity around the world, Gundam is moving away from their own potential cash cow. As you pointed out, the two pillars of Gunpla product, MG and HG, have had their once-abundant production slowed to a crawl. Even if you add together all of the store exclusives and web exclusives, there simply isn't the output we used to see. And it's not like there isn't new product that could be developed. HGUC has tons of old kits that could be reworked, new and crazy AoZ designs, and a few suits from the OVAs (Xamel my beloved) that haven't been put to plastic yet. Let's not forget the several relevant designs from WfM that just weren't given kits at all. And the list for Master Grade possibilities is even bigger. If all of Bandai's investments in the IP were successful, then I would accept those facts as a sad reality, that Gunpla just doesn't make as much money as all of the fluff anymore, but as you pointed out, a lot of these projects feel like pure vanity and haven't been very successful at all! I haven't bought a kit after I finished my WfM collection last year. And genuinely, Bandai hasn't put out anything since then that I would actually want. If nothing else, I guess I will save money.

[@Jajamola888]

And if they really wanted to make Gundam globally recognized, they could try building those statues literally anywhere but Asia. Anime fans in Shanghai or Tokyo are already familiar with Gundam

[@user-ir1xo9jp8w]

I've slowed down on Gunpla the past few years due to several factors. Dissatisfaction with the builds (weak plastic and C-clips), retail stores barely carrying new stuff, and also growing as a builder who'd wanna do more with one kit like painting. Most kits I've built are from Kotobukiya now who give a lot more bang for your buck from what you pay for with much better plastic. I do think when it comes to their gunpla output it must be due to how much more complex they make the models now tham before. The SEED Freedom Z'Gok was never planned to have a model kit, but due to popular reception Bandai immediately got to work in giving it a kit. And it took roughly 8 months to get a working prototype. So the lead time for a model kit to to get conceptualized and then turned into a prototype must have extended. MGs have gotten scarce for that reason too most likely

[@jiminboo]

Remember when we used to get like a brand new MG every 1-2 months, then the “big release” during the holidays? Good times… PG gramps Unleashed released 4 years ago… and as of now no new PG Unleashed version of like a Zaku or even a Strike… like they can revise some of the older PG designs…

[@citrusjuicebox]

Some months we'd even get two MGs! That was truly a Golden Age.

[@mattplayz4550]

16:27 I want to add something onto this. I am european, and i just wish to say that P-bandai kits are littereally impossible to get for normal prices, hell in general they are impossible to get. P-bandai EU doesn't exist, they only ship to France and that is really about it, if you want a p-bandai kit well expect to pay some really stupid prices (Like 70€ (about 75USD) for HG MSD Full armor gundam). And it is about to become even harder to acquire p-bandai kits cuz the p-bandai web store is going to be closed for about a year. Also a thing that really bugs me is how just stupidly hard some kits are to get (That are retail releases btw), like littereally the entire origin line, sure we get some reissues here and there (Like next year the Dom Test type and Early Guntank are being reissued) but it can be just really discouraging to go "Hm yes, i want a Bugu" only to check ebay/buyee/any type of marketplace and just get slapped in the face with some really bad prices. Another thing is the price increase, it does worry me to some extent how this will affect the pricing of kits here. Model kits in EU are just not as cheap as they are in japan. And i am just worried about how much this will jack up the price. A example i suppose would be HGUC Z'gok, cute kit, fun little guy, what is there to say. In japan the Z'gok costs 770 yen, which is 4.70€, however once it is imported to EU it costs between 10-12€. Now with the price increase going to 1,040 yen, it just makes me wonder how much more expensive it'll be, cuz paying like 20€ for HG Z'gok ain't it man. That's all i really wanted to add, love your vids!

[@senator4511]

To add onto the P-Bandai BS, they're also restructuring their EU website from 25/01/2025 onwards, which they say will take them a year. So there's no way to effectively get official P-Bandai things reliably within Europe unless you know people in countries where P-Bandai does sell their products.

[@Jajamola888]

My other hobby is collecting Barbies and it’s amazing how many parallels there are between Bandai and Mattel right now. Massive companies with legacy IP that are investing millions in weird collabs and vanity projects while availability of their normal releases dries up. The Barbie movie was a huge media sensation but the actual doll releases were plagued by scalpers and inventory issues, and they axed a popular line shortly after. I’m also losing interest in Barbie because of these issues + the declining quality of the dolls themselves but at least I can sew doll clothes at home. There’s no good DIY replacement for gunpla, even with 3D printing tech.

[@pachecodejesus]

Some points you didn't touch was for example the Amaim kit line that was a massive failure, with stories of shops selling them at 500 yen, that's just molds and engineering that is just wasted because they still have so much stock

[@citrusjuicebox]

That's true! I've heard those stories, they make the reprints (if they are reprints 🤭) of those kits even more baffling. somewhat alluded to this with "insecurity about creating new stories," but I didn't want to speak on something I didn't do too much research about.

[@11AleZZ]

The Amaim kits are cool but the anime was so garbage that most people have headaches when see a kit of that anime, Bandai CEOs are old mens, that thinks that anime is just for kids, so you can make any trashy anime to sell millions of toys like in the 70s

[@SomeStayDry]

You 100% hit my feelings on current gunpla with the insane amount of exclusive that they've been releasing. I always kept away from the hobbies that overly relied on that gimmick and seeing Gundam falling to that that has been really disheartening. The Gundam base tour was completely atrocious with early scalpers buying huge chunks of inventory with no sales limits (not to mention the insane wait times) and it seems that premium bandai is the only way they're releasing interesting and new kits anymore.

[@bikzimusmaximus5250]

They do seem to really be focusing on squeezing as much out of every machine and every mould they have right now. But I'm honestly not too depressed about it, as you said there are already hundreds and hundreds of kits I could want. And on top of that there's so many other companies that also produce really cool high quality model kits. Like even if you're not a painter type you can get some cool stuff from Kotobukiya, Max Factory, and Good Smile Company, and overall the quality across the industry is rising right now. Chinese model kits are also improving in quality, and it's getting easier and easier to find solid non-bootleg original model kits from there as well. I do agree that bandai is sort of hitting a nadir right about now, but as a fan of cool robots and great model kits? it's a wonderful time.

[@GeremyG]

I started this hobby around 2016 and I build mainly MG. Thinking back it’s basically gotten worse every single year peaking during COVID. I pretty much stopped building all together in 2020 and picked it back up in 2022 and the lack of standard releases has been disheartening.

[@wewyllenium]

Gundam died for me when they stopped using ABS on HG and MG kits.

[@Trinioutsider34]

One of my biggest issues with being a Gunpla fan since the late 90s is now we have P-Bandai kits and how hard those are get here in Canada. Now I hear Bandai is going down the Games Workshop path of jacking up prices dear god my hobby is dying or dead at this point.

[@raditz197megatron92]

just as a devil's advocate, please allow me a few counterpoints: 1. bandai is by far the cheapest manufacturer of model kits (bootlegs aside) - vs kotobukiya or aircraft/armor kits - even a low end company like Trumpeter tends to be pricier 2. based on #1, it's a plausible theory that bandai has been losing money or breaking even on some products like the reprinted HG kits that are still on original SRP for decades. why do this? well, it's to keep your brand relevant and the demand high - think of it as advertising, except it's subsidized by the customer in this case 3. from #1 and #2, in order for bandai to be profitable, they need to leverage their high-end/premium lines - which is exactly what they've been doing - more and more lately. for those statues, I'm inclined to think that their sales/marketing studies find them to be efficient advertising strategies. seems expensive upfront - but think about the cost of a 30 second superbowl commercial every year for 5 years (~35m usd) - that makes these giant statues cost look like pocket change. for the new factory, growth = survival in business - that is simply a fundamental and immutable rule. we'd never have the kits we loved if bandai was some timid company that just focused on what the consumers want and still sell products at low SRPs. overall, while it's unfortunate that we have this price hike, and we're getting questionable products here and there - I have to give the benefit of doubt for a company that offered high end products with unparalleled fixed low pricing for decades - if anything, I'm actually quite surprised they managed it for so long.

[@KemRinget-cw4vg]

They remove the price on the box and change the logo blue.. IM Gona Keep my red box gunpla backlog, they are the reason why i love gunpla.

[@JackalRelated]

Not only that, but their economy has recently taken a massive downspike that doesn't really allow them to be more experimental these days, I'd have to guess.

[@citrusjuicebox]

About point 2, the pricing isn't fixed. The price hike has always been baked into the increasing prices of _new_ products over time. Bandai has always been able to sell older products at a fixed price because they're dirt cheap to actually make and their R&D costs would've already been recuperated. And the massive volumes of model kits they sell allow them to price low. If Trumpeter, Dragon, Tamiya, Aoshima, Airfix, Italeri, Revel, etc. could sell products at the volumes Bandai does, their kits would be even cheaper. This is what I mean by not getting into the math of it. The problem is that the price increases in the past have generally accompanied a comparable rise in quality (parts count, weight, density, etc.), and this is not the case anymore. In fact, during the years when Bandai was more publicly focused on improving their manufacturing efficiency, after adjusting for Japan's meager inflation at the time, gunpla prices even _deflated_ for a while. Bandai managed to do this for so long because this _was_ their strategy the whole time. Evidently, their priorities have changed.

[@calvinfermin6598]

Point No. 2 hits the nail on the head. Majority of the kits getting the 40% price increase that all the people seem to be cherry picking are OLD kits that cost a little less than 10 USD. Of course they're bleeding money trying to sell those kits using prices from 20 years ago. Japanese Yen is at a historical low, Bandai is still trying to increase their production with new factories popping up all over the place, and HGs are improving at an INCREDIBLE rate, just look at how the build on WFM kits (already cheap and great) were improved upon wven further by the Seed Freedom and RFV kits.

[@RandomFBIguy]

As someone who loves UC for it's more _"realistic"_ designs, it sucks to see Bandai just not make detailed MG or RG designs for the mobile suits in that timeline. Like man, imagine RG GMs, Jestas, Gelgoogs, Goufs, dammit I'll even take an RG ball!

[@citrusjuicebox]

I'll happily buy any of those. Early on (like 2011-ish), there was so much excitement about the line too.

[@FlakManiak]

Not related to Gunpla, but just to your driving-footage: You live in a beautiful area! I love those kinds of woods. The more trees, the better!

[@citrusjuicebox]

Thank you! I love the trees here too, rain and shine!

[@jamesrichards2442]

Where is the stock? So much is backordered with no sign of restock. Not just in stores but I've been keeping and eye on HLJ and stuff is just not coming in. I've got money to spend but if they aren't in stock it's staying in my wallet.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Every new Bandai kit you see on the shelf that just don't care about could've been a reprint you desperately wanted 💀

[@Peasham]

What amazes is we just had the most successful and popular Gundam show and movie back to back, G Witch and Seed Freedom respectively, and Bandai just.. put out a few HGs and called it a day. Both lines are still experiencing massive shortages, people are being absolutely ravenous for both.. not a single MG, and only a single FM kit from the both of em, barely any SDs even. It's almost sad cuz G Witch was supposed to be a massive push for international markets for the franchise, and it succeeded, and they did absolutely nothing with it, and Seed Freedom could've at least kept up that momentum but they showed it twice in 2 theaters and called it a day, don't even get me started on how they treated Gundam Evolution, let alone the Metaverse lmao. It's as i always say, this franchise keeps succeeding despite Bandai's best efforts, they just don't wanna make money off of this propert.

[@bushybeardedbear]

​@@BlueAmerican26 _"You people"_ Wasn't there objective data that showed it was massively successful both in Japan and internationally...?

[@Peasham]

@@BlueAmerican26 Oh no belief necessary, objective data straight from Bandai showed that G Witch was not only massively popular, but single-handedly doubled the franchise's lifetime profits in only its first six months of existence. Gundam X is my favorite Gundam show and that was a massive flop, I am not out here lying about Gundam shows because I like them, yet I suspect you've absolutely nothing to back up your claims.

[@Redfield70]

I'm a LOT more selective about what I'm buying these days. Any new editions of Gramps are still must buys for me and if they ever releaae a MG Atlas Gundam or any new TB kits, I will day one those. Otherwise, I'm super picky now.

[@MrGrandure]

I've been waiting for an mg atlas for so long that I left thr hobby. Lol

[@MaryPTY]

one thing i think could help bandai is if they ACTUALLY REPRINTED STUFF. ive only been a part of the hobby for 4 years but i feel like ive seen maybe like 30% of what they have to offer in that time, online or offline, straight from them or at retailers. its just silly.

[@feral404]

They’re reprinting hundreds of items per month. They do reprint stuff. But their factory is only so big. The expansion will help some but only just some.

[@vm_duc]

​@@feral404 reprinting a billion dogshit SEED designs, sure. this is why morosawa should have dragged fukuda with her, the bitch.

[@datkat2001]

It sucks but the past year has been great for reprints. so much stuff that hasn't been seen for years is coming back. we're even getting the ZZ Doven Wolf early next year

[@RandomFBIguy]

I'll always love Bandai for being "cheap" in the ever so expensive world of hobbies, but MAN do I wish we'd get more designs and that those designs are NOT PBANDAI.

[@FoxB117]

When they started to release prominent kits as PB like the HG Jegan Type-D, that it should be a normal release. That was the first sign for me. Later PB started to become more common, and for me, the moment that I started to really hate Bandai. The release the Woundwort HG. A completly new mold web exlclusive, and for me was the beginnig of the end. Later all the AOZ line including the old Hazels with nothing new, The G unit Kits with fully colored boxart, The MK-V with also full colored boxart, 2022 with only 1 HG release and more the 20 Pbandai releases. And going back to the Jegan, MG Type-D and The StarK Jegan as Pbandai. And being from south america, its sucks being in the hobby like this, we even don't have acces to pbandai, shipping is more expensive for importing and now, local store are selling HG at MG prices because of lack of availability of products and stock. Things are not looking great. And funny enough. Bootlegs are becoming more common and more desirable. HG Woundwort for 10 bucks, yes plis

[@Gatherway]

So what your saying is... that for the next few months I will NOT be forced to spend hundreds of dollars in order to make sure I get my hands on new products I want before they go out of stock, giving me time to work away at the hundred-or-so kits I have stored in my backlog closet? 🤔

[@citrusjuicebox]

Yes, it's kind of a blessing in disguise, I tell myself

[@lazergator1016]

We are at the dark days of Gunpla now 😔

[@MrGrandure]

I feel like we've been there for a while with the peen bandai scalper insanity over the last few years. Placing the majority of the best kits on peen bandai is telling me that they don't want my money. Hell, look at MG.

[@bjrabang3111]

Agreed, we are in the dark days of bandai. But for plamo in general, and for me in particular, my wallet is just as in pain as it ever was.

[@AstreaGT]

Firstly, A tier bunbuns. I agree that Bandai has been spending their money poorly. I get that they want to eat up market share by expanding the types of kits apart from Gundam. They're focusing on the younger audience but their execution has been sloppy at best. P Bandai seems more prevalent because yes, it's a money grab, but it's really just tossing us a bone to gnaw at so we don't complain. I think the loudest among us complain but the massive majority stays silent and eats it up (hey that's me!) but honestly, I don't care about the sparse releases too much, like you mentioned, their current offerings are more than enough to satisfy the hobby. Anyone saying gunpla is dead may be overstating things when a trickle instead of a stream is fine. I think what makes it difficult for some, and me included, is that these new kits have such unimaginable engineering that each new kit to release is a fantastic experience and I need MOAR! I don't think you need onslaughts of new releases to be relevant, I just hope they keep the wow factor up as those few new entries come.

[@ShogunResu]

1. They can literally ask the fandom for the new ideas for kits like my friend and I have been begging for an RG or a revive HG RGM-79 GM and we have yet to get that even though we have new RX-78-2 Gundam kits with repaint potential also they could accept more ideas they just choose not to for whatever godforsaken reason. and 2. They're just throwing money in the air at this rate with all the promotions and collabs with Fortnite, Call of Duty and so on. Then the statues like about keeping the statues clean...the Unicorn in Shizuoka is gathering rust and looks yellow on certain areas like it hasn't been cleaned at all. Like Transformers for example is having a magnificent 40th anniversary, new figures, a movie that just recently came out, game collabs, products out the wazoo and yet Bandai can't do anything for Gundam which is just disappointing especially with the 45th anniversary around the corner all I can hope is Studio Trigger also do something for Gundam because I love these franchises and I don't want them to die like this.

[@W1ngZ3ro]

I usually hunt second hand or buy smaller and older kits at hobby shops. Currently looking for the HG origin full armor gundam and heavy gundam. right now its probably best to fight the backlog or try customizing gunpla, because that will keep me more occupied at the moment.

[@Viper-jr4sp]

Ah the HG FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam is a very good kit sure its p bandai but you get a lot of parts and the armor pieces go on smoothly compared to the old MG version where you had to use those small pieces of tape to attach it to the main body

[@gaveintothedarkness]

Maybe bandai can start releasing some of their pbandai shit as regular releases and let us regular people get some kits that we've been wanting. They already have all the molds so why not? It also serves the added bonus of screwing over scalpers too.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Funny thing is before PBUS launched, several PB kits in Japan came here as normal releases, like MG Astray Turn Red. That's how I got my MG Exia Avalanche and MG 00Q Full Saber-picked them up from Hobbytown. I really wished that distribution model would last, but Bandai had other plans.

[@feral404]

@@citrusjuiceboxthey do still do that to this day but less often for Gunpla. ie, recent RG Evangelion Weapon Set was JP PB but retail US. Then the Gunpla that were released that way do still get US Retail runs when they’re up on JP PB, or even independent of that.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Oh yeah, I just saw Gundam Pros get the RG Eva transporter platform thing. That was PB, right? Maybe there's some hope. After all, if PB has the inventory that's not selling, might as well move it some other way...

[@feral404]

@@citrusjuicebox I have my own theories that long term Bandai may experiment with moving PB kits via wholesale methods.

[@achaoPSG]

Clearly something changed in Gunpla releases. The main proof of that is the MG Line. Usually, there would be multiple models of the same movie, coming out in the same breath almost. As it should have been after the MG Barbatos, we should have had the Vidar few months after at best. Not a couple years after. We should have had multiple MGs from Witch From Mercury. So I don't know where it's going, but I made peace with this situation. The next HG are very good (Mk 2 and Bolinoak), the HG Seed Freedom are excellent. And I'll add that I think it's not relevant to be se much riled up by the weak annoucements from 4 days ago. I think it was just there, but we decided to make this out as huge thing when we (the customers) had no ground to do so. Second, some great kits came out, from other series by Bandai (the HG Dunbine, Votoms, the Batsh from L-Gaim, the RG EVAs, the RG Go Gai Gar). There's the last two MGEX that were groundbreaking, the MG Zeta Ver Ka and Narrative, the RG Gao Gai Gar etc... Sure, one might not like that, but there isn't "nothing". As you said, the back catalogue is still great, there are a good number of kits that I haven't built. And also, the scarcity of MGs can be an occasion to look for other manufacturers. Like there's the recent (few days ago) Daccas from the Five Star Stories GTM series, that came out in a plastic model kit, and it seems it's a good kit (I have it, but I didn't build it). So, I get the frustration, but what we got is what we got. And it may not be as opulent as we'd like, but what we have is pretty excellent.

[@j-frame]

Bandai should release new kit not re-release old kit in different color as bandai have so many other suit from anime, novel and manga. No more dead horse Exia,00, Freedom, Wing, Barbie, Dog, Uni and Etc need new suit like Le Cygne, Minerva Gundam Etc. Actually 30ms is not cheap compare to Nuke Matrix and some other Chinese Girlpla.

[@barmutah]

Hikaru no kyojin a japanese ultraman toys reviewer said bandai apparently bandai stoping china manufacturing factory and move to vietnam because the cost of producing goods in china have been up and make the price to high, that's also why the recent new toys from bandai have many quality control problem

[@citrusjuicebox]

Interesting! This reminds me to check the manufacturing place of my recent figures...

[@barmutah]

@citrusjuicebox yeah and according to hikaru no kyojin all the small shokugan candy toys already moved to vietnam, i don't know about dx tho because bandai china have theirs own products different from their japanese counterpart

[@DeEvilBanana]

15:21 I wish it was better, I went to japan this year in June and one of the things I was most looking forward to was the gundam base in Odaiba since I didn't get a chance to go to it on my last trip. We get up to the entrance only to be met with staff holding up a sign saying that there was no more tickets being sold that day (it was 2pm) and that we could not enter without a raffle ticket. Within diver city mall, of course there were other shops with gunpla, but the price was either above retail, or the kit selection was so minimal that you'd only want to buy something because it was more expensive back home or because you felt like you had to. I left diver city mall that day with nothing purchased. Even the satellite gundam base had a very small selection of gunpla. The weirdest part about it all was the crazy lack of variety at most of the retail stores I went to. Having gone to Japan twice now in 2 years, I was slightly disappointed that it was so hard to find even newer MG or RG kits. Shopping at reseller stores like manadrake and akihabara Specialty Shop definitely helped, but you end up paying slightly more because the kits are "rare." All this is to say that its not as easy to buy gunpla in Japan anymore, at least for folks who dont always want whatever random HGUC kit Bandai decided to reprint that year.

[@citrusjuicebox]

All too true. There was a time when Mandarake was a genuine bargain bin too, because they had to price lower than the department stores to move their inventory. Now, they turn any kit that's not being reprinted into a profit opportunity.

[@knightx605]

I too was there in early June and was hoping to get some rarish kits and Gundam 00 HGs if possible too. I was in Ikebukuro for hotel, went to Akihabara, and to Diver City Gundam base. Gundam Base was a little bit disappointing as they did not have any rare kits of sorts nor any of the exclusives I wanted.... Ikebukuro had a Mandrake store, which was ok for what I could get. Found GN Arms Type D, but I had no more room for it sadly. Akihabara was were I got some good stuff from Suruga-Ya, Mandrake, and thrle Gundam Specialist Store too, which I was able to get a nice variety of stuff I wanted in the end.

[@otakuattacku8885]

Retail price increase is likely due to to the Japanese Yen being in the shitter right now. Almost everything in Japan is facing a dramatic increase. For reference the PS5 in Japan was retailing for a mere $300 USD before they raised the price back up to match $500 USD. Bandai is just one of the latest to do the same across their product line.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Sony's margins on a PS5 is way slimmer than Bandai's margins on gunpla, which is really a unique product in how it has been resilient to price shocks in general

[@blazetrinity9462]

Bandai has really failed to make the hobby interesting for a while now. Last Bandai kit I bought was MGEX SF a few years ago. I really like building MG kits, and we barely get any these days. Also, I will point out the elephant in the room, Bandai is losing the 1/100 market to 3rd party companies now. These companies have managed to produce high quality kits with only half the price Bandai would charge. I might even argue that some of those kits have surpassed Bandai's quality lately. They can't really blame the customer for going to a cheaper and more "value" options ofc, these 3rd party companies know what they are doing and know what a lot of builders want, meanwhile Bandai don't even listen to their customers. And don't even get me started on the rise of bootleg kits, from what I can see, PB kits are the main targets for these bootleg kits, with how unaccessible and expensive these PBs are, ofc a lot of ppl will choose the way cheaper alternatives.

[@cameroncorrosive925]

I'm sure there will be an end of year announcement during their online event. Sometimes things have to slow down, clear some path, and then you can go full speed again. Remember not everything go straight up forever.

[@DrunkenSoda]

42% price increase. Gotta get some Master Grade before it's too late

[@optiondezzo1513]

its a shame that very few MG stuff is worth your money. unless you are a skilled modeller that paints and customize the kit.

[@DrunkenSoda]

@optiondezzo1513 yeah. I only buy it if i wanna customize the kit. Usually I just buy Hgs for straight build. MGs have such a high price in the West its annoying to get one at a reasonable. I doubt this is gonna make it better

[@citrusjuicebox]

@BlueAmerican26 I literally posted the price list from Bandai and linked the source. Are you illiterate?

[@DrunkenSoda]

@@citrusjuicebox oh no, i was not referring to the price increase in the past. I forgot that the price will be raised from 2% to 42.9% next year. No need to go after my throat like that

[@omu_fpv]

A theory of mine with price increases may also be reflecting political conflict in the Japan area. I haven't looked into it, but it may not be a direct influence, but an influence down the line as far as import/export of goods and materials.

[@MaryPTY]

like ive heard many ppl talk about how the MG Age series affected them, going off of that it almost feels like they cant decide if they want to learn from that or not. idk maybe im biased because im from america and ive seen nothing sell out for almost a year.

[@cybobb]

The MG Age kits flopping absolutely sent the message to Bandai that quality didn't matter and it wasn't enough to sell a kit; and that they should reserve more expensive developments for safer products.

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

Bandai doesn't even do simple things like an rg gm and rg variants for new kits

[@steffy2]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I definitely agree with some of your observations and criticisms. The whole price raising thing honestly doesent suprise or bother me too much since with inflation being so high it was bound to happen at some point and prices stayed the same for a long time now. What bothers me more personally is the general price hike of gunpla. mgs are releasing slower and keep getting more expensive (with even full mechanics kits now costing more than similarly sized mgs used to) and even hgs are starting to creep up to being 30$ as a base line. Combine all of that with bandais awful distribution outside of japan and everything is getting prohibitively expensive..... One thing that unexpectedly helped rekindle my interest in the hobby recently has been trying out other model kit lines from china since those keep getting better quality wise at prices that are more reasonable than bandais current output. Since you're already having to limit which kits you want to get based on what you want to display with limited shelf space those kits might not be very interesting in your case. Its definitely an odd time for gunpla. I think the quality of releases is better than ever imo but between premium bandai kits and distribution issues and scalping getting kits just feels like a headache now. Im interested in how things will develop but if bandai keeps gouging prices and make even more kits premium I reckon 3d party companies will just become more and more prevalent.

[@urang395]

>spend 120 millions metavers for nothing >Doesn't make Hathaway part 2

[@77refined]

So true. So true. As a another bit of salt , you forgot to mention , is a moment which occur during pandemic when japan sellers were encouraging retailers to stop selling gunpla to foreigners . And up to this day online stores like Hobby Search still do not sale any gunpla to aboard countries. Crisis ? Really ?? Scalpers did a hit on market no one could imagine in darkest dreams . No regular online stores have a decent amount of selection , like HLJ one of biggest stores now is accepting only a pre-orders in general . If you want to buy any newest release - good luck ! All new releases are hidden behind pre-order thing. Basically you have to wait in virtual line in hope you'll be lucky enough to get your order from a first print! All older releases ? Well , double on good luck buddy , available ? When ? Perhaps ?? Maybe ?? Uncertain . Back in the day there was three platforms - In stock , Out of stock and Pre-order . Now , selection scarce , few HG and only choice left is to go for a Pre-order selection. Every and then Bnadai keeps releasing ,,new'' lines ? What happened to RE/100 ? Not a thing anymore? Full Mechanics ? How long it will last ? 6-8 releases ? A truly Gunpla a definition of freedom .... Freedom of choice .

[@uuuhhhh6425]

The only way I can an actual comeback for a bunch of new kits is if they make anime’s of gundam manga like a cross bone or moon and makes kits from those series or just make new original anime with new mobile suits. the whole problem is that they’re trying remake the wheel on advertising model kits and spending a bunch of money on giant statues to make 2-3 kits when with that they could’ve just made a anime for 20-30 kits.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Exactly! The math ain't mathing!

[@uuuhhhh6425]

Another thing is that they could make kits of mobile suits that beaver had one like a mk 4 gundam or they could more original kits for retail than p Bandai like the new g gundam kits and I don’t know why they stop to remake old kits like all of the mg gpo gundams,the zaku 1 or the ground gundam but it’s better to reuse the same old kits and slap new parts on it like that p bandai build kampfer and don’t forget the dead re 100 line or some scrapped gundam kits like the mg age 3 they’ve done it before. it’s free money

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

And making variant kits based on retools like a bunch of different gm kits based on the rg 2.0, a full armor gundam based on it, etc

[@uuuhhhh6425]

@@citrusjuicebox the main problem I think is that most of the decisions Bandai has been doing is just to please investors which is probably why they started the metaverse thing

[@shiranui498]

I juggle between 2 hobbies, Gunpla and Magic: The Gathering, it's not lost on me that I've been investing more time on MTG and less on Gunpla. Bandai release so few Gunpla nowadays there is hardly anything to be excited about. My Bandai hobby news feed just tells me there's new 30MM kits or some model kit of an IP I don't care about or some third party kit and hardly any actual Gundam kits.

[@RevanR]

There's so many disappointments from Bandai-Namco regarding on gunplas, but this just make me more appreciating every purchase and stop hoarding unbuilt gunpla just because "I can work on It later"

[@peepandschleep9610]

At it's best, I can see maybe a golden age of creative hg custom creations with the price increase. But I'm also upset that the incoming American tariffs stacked on Bandai's price increase.

[@landwand]

Yeah, old releases are all I'm into these days. Except the HGUC Psycho Mark 2.

[@Bigjawnnn117]

Coming from someone who collects sneakers as a side hobby I can see Bandai going the direction of Nike releasing cheap same mold kits for retail, saving the exclusives for limited quantities and making it hard for you to buy them WHILE increasing the price for no real reason. This shit sucks.

[@leolied6766]

Honestly, I have slowly gotten out of the hobby overtime in the last two years due to the lack of interest and mainly just shiffting my focus on to the RD ver anime and on the MG F90 line.

[@zangetsu27]

Tbf your concerns are valid and i agree its bad that bandai is kind of neglecting gundams right now. But imo as a business, the decisions u mentions shud have considered ROIs and such. I also think that the previous pandemic period could have affected what they are doing now. Im just hoping that these other ventures would mean that they can sustain and result to them being able to create more gundam related products.

[@OtonashiV]

Bandai saw how much ppl both domestically and internationally are willing to pay for gunpla and realized they could get way more for no effort lol. Bandai US is also heinous for pocketing the exchange rate difference for the past few years with no shame and pretending the exchange rate is 1:100 or worse.

[@nathanpalmer768]

The problem is Japan has no idea what fans want. It’s just like with Nintendo. Bad Japanese business practices. I’ve been in this hobby for over 18 years and I still have kits I want to build. Bandai needs to wake up and realize how many old kits need to be updated. I’m tried of seeing just more HG’s that no one really wants besides new hobbyists. This is still the best past time to have and I will continue this hobby even when I’m old and grey

[@chaosenforcerdhm969]

Nintendo releases a lot of things fans want could you give me an example

[@nathanpalmer768]

It’s just how anti consumer they are. How streamers can’t play their games without being flagged by them.

[@JTruong3rd]

Oh they're still making new kits just a lot of them are being shoved into p bandai. The sheer ammount of my favorites getting put there has been so off-putting i just stopped buying new ones altogether. Final straw for me was when they put the shuffle alliance into p bandai.

[@MrGrandure]

Same. Peen bandai and scalpers eating too good

[@d9_1056]

Bro. Everything is up. Literally, every single hobby is pricing people out. Warhammer, tcg's, fishing, cycling, like all of it. Dont take bandai trying to remain profitable as an insult.

[@bushybeardedbear]

​@@BlueAmerican26 The percentages these are increasing by are larger than inflation. Nobody is denying the cost of living crisis exists. Hope you voted blue.

[@truthseeker9833]

Warhammer has always been overpriced trash

[@Romapolitan]

​@@bushybeardedbearFunny, in my country voting blue would mean voting conservative, although I am guessing you mean the american way.

[@ShinKatto]

Damn, wasn’t expecting a full cup of facts here. Tbh for as disappointing as this is, and it is disappointing, I don’t feel as bad? Honestly this all feels like if frame arms had the staying power of gundam but still went stagnant. I’m just glad I’ve branched out and just picked up other kits. Not even just in Bandai but companies like number 57. It would suck to fully give up on gunpla but when half (or more) of the cool new stuff is P-ban, it is really not worth caring at times. I got 1 woundwort within this year in all the time it’s been out on Amazon for too much lol. Probably best to watch the kit scene as a whole than just at one or 2 companies.

[@paodebatata6606]

Agree with the video, and honestly find the whole situation ridiculous, like think of the absolute gold mine UC mangas are. It’s not as if they didn’t have more material to keep their main series’ demographics well-fed for years to come, but then they pull stuff like “hey here’s the metaverse no one asked for” or “here’s the gay marriage aspect no one asked for”, and without taking under account the statues (og granddaddy gundam statue was objectively a thousand times better looking than that moving one) or the price hikes. Feels like an endless cycle of self-sabotage, so all in all the organic response from potential buyers is to indeed attempt to flee the “mud” somehow, and the 30minute line has been able to provide just the right shelter.

[@citrusjuicebox]

The LGBT representation in WFM is definitely a net social positive, and plenty-I mean _plenty_ (maybe just not in your circles)-have asked for it, along with more female representation, especially in a non-sexual gaze. And it's not like Gundam hasn't flirted with homosexuality as well. WFM was just the first time Bandai said the quiet part out loud. It's a shame they squandered so much of its merchandising potential.

[@jhaybz29]

its a different problem here at SEA (south east asia) they are doing artificial scarcity and its pumping prices higher than usual... in addition there are a lot of scalpers reselling exclusive for an exuberant amount. Bandai isn't even profiting on this artificial scarcity its the scalpers that are profiting...

[@Henkoshi]

Adding on to the miku thing, i have been dreaming of seeing an offical miku gundam collab, but when i saw it was some metaverse concert instead that completely killed my vibe. I was hoping for some cute crossover kits not.. a digital concert.

[@MTMario]

I'm just glad right now I have a crazy backlog to get through of MG's as well a bunch of GK resin kits for them to keep myself occupied with. I know people like yourself (or not) who either have built everything and waiting for something new is really effecting them. I will say though during a time like this, some people can choose to step out from the Gunpla scene and try other stuff. I recently been getting into resin figurines to build as well as cars and motorcycle stuff. Just learning I like doing anything scale model work. Hopefully, in the future Bandai will see that but they really don't care especially with the fiasco they had did with Digimon stuff before. They are in it for the money that's it. Appreciate your video and time to share your thoughts with us.

[@armorman5563]

in the uc timeline i like rgm and gm more than gundam rx don't know why🤦, i hope there will be a new movie with rgm/gm as the main character without gundam

[@denden6575]

I've had the same sentiments and the final nail on the coffin for me that really made me pissed was making the gorgeous movie ver. g-self a gundam base exclusive. I find myself not even interested in any of the announcements. Hell, with the recent p-bandai reissues of the MG Exia variant I just gave up the hope of seeing an MG Exia remaster like the Strike. Another thing is I live near Japan so kits are relatively easier to get. The fucked up thing is though, with every limited release, no one fucking benefits but scalpers and resellers. Even the p-bandai shop on our market platforms are plagued by scalper bots the moment a kit is released.

[@cb-ys4wp]

I have stopped buying items from Bandai from Model Kit's to figures. IMO they just keep re-releasing the same kits over n over with nothing exciting just either a re color or clear and at higher prices been about 3 years since my last model kit purchase. And their figures for their size/scale the prices don't match compared to other companies.

[@MrGrandure]

Same

[@miragebangbravern]

Tbf, the recolors and clear kits are just exclusives that you don't feel the need to get

[@armorman5563]

about this video, the aoshima brand is to blame for me a Japanese person in 2016 replied to my comment on fb and said before bandai made gundam kits Aoshima and Bandai compete to get the license from sunrise and gundam creator but in the end aoshima pulled away.. but not sure if it's true or not🤷 i have try aoshima model kit before that is fullmetal panic for quality just good same as bandai but.... underrate brand

[@Jajamola888]

the Aoshima Patlabor kits are great

[@boogerman908]

My only complaint is how much stuff I want is behind the pbandai wall lol and probably would just love some updated kits for stuff i enjoy like 00

[@knightx605]

00 kits have hit the Shitter for HG Pbandais. They literally put 0 effort into Zabanya and Harute Final Battle kits, and that was 2022 or 2023 released, nothing else since then. Season 1 kits have issues for the gundams, but we can easily get new stuff for minor varients for Season 2 MS units! Plutone HG literally only had ONE RUN of kits the last I checked, which is sad.

[@boogerman908]

@knightx605 I didn't even known those happened or existed but modern tech to do an exia 2.0 or something would be so nice. 00 getting dubbed on scifi channel is what got me back into gundam and got me into gunpla in the first place and the tech has just warped so far past the kits from 09

[@fatfalcon2798]

I feel that even the more recent stuff just aint worth it. you can get two older mg's (ex:ground gm, Nemo, ground gundam,zgok) combined for cheaper than kits like the zeta ver ka or hg nightingale

[@exiadash]

the lack of master grades is appalling, let alone killing their fan base. A majority of people i know mainly build MG and when all the interesting options available are pbandai or resale tax price (almost double msrp), it’s a big turn off for the hobby.

[@mix-up9003]

Well the Chines mecha market is in full expansion you might want to consider looking into their stuff instead.

[@user-xsn5ozskwg]

We can only speculate, but I suspect the monetary angle isn't entirely untrue (but it's probably for greedy reasons, not wanting to reduce their profit margins rather than out of necessity). On top of the deflation of the Yen and global prices generally increasing Gunpla is ultimately a product with a limited market cap. Because they'll last a lifetime if they're stored and handled properly many long-term collectors like yourself will eventually reach a point where they don't feel compelled to collect as much, especially if they only have a few series or suits that catch their attention. Bandai's had very mixed success with expanding Gundam's audience, but one can very much imagine that by-the-numbers there are concerns about reaching peak saturation, and the only way to make the line go up after that is by either reducing production costs or increasing retail prices. Bandai's a massive company and the Gundam brand is titanic, so I'd be surprised if the whole bottom fell out unless (until?) the rest of the economy crashes. But I think you're right we're in for some bad times all around for a while, especially when it comes to accessibility.

[@Jirujan]

the problem with Gundam & Miku project, is that it most likely just a recolor of already existing GunPla. also, for people outside of P-Bandai, they have to spend more money to buy the kits they want up to triple the normal price all of regular release kit from HG WFM are from prologue and TV series, nothing from manga. at least Build Divers Re:Rise give us HG Anima Rize, G-Else, Shining Break, etc.

[@TokyoFilthy]

bandai has a plethora of unused designs, 2.0 possibilities, etc. they just sit on or make p-bandai and it’s so sad to see, at least the figures and gaming side of bandai uses them but regardless it sucks

[@datkat2001]

P-Bandai's biggest issue is that it's pre-order +10USD per month bullshit. They just need to turn it into a normal hobby shop with in-stock items, free shipping thresholds, hobby supplies (which they have, somewhat), and PWs. Though I guess it would hurt the normal hobby shops even more if they made it no longer more expensive and worse to buy from. also, 2025 (especially mid-year) just seems like a lull year for the genre as a whole. High profile stuff is targeting 2026, the next Gundam anime is far more likely to release in 2026 than 2025, etc.

[@citrusjuicebox]

Why 2026? This year and 2025 are the anime and the hobby's 45th anniversary.

[@truegunpla]

31:00 this. you nailed the massive issue at hand truly

[@jiminboo]

Wow those bunnies are too cute 🐰

[@kassmalz2069]

I moved to blokees transformers model kits especially the classic class(same height or lower than HG) and action class (around the same height as MG zeta ver ka). Great palette cleanser, you should try. Cons of the kits are limited joint at least upto 90 degrees and they are made out of ABS plastics

[@ODSTfilmz1917]

GUNPLa fans: noooo there increasing the price how greedy! Warhammer 40k fans : first time?

[@failed_K]

I feel like Bandais biggest blunder is focusing too much on P-Bandai and universe Bias, we've been getting soooo many Gundam seed and UC kits cause they sell well. Even then Seed has been dominating the market so much, like how the MG F90 was P Bandai but the Eclipse was general release like what?. And all the recent announcements have all been Seed related, hell we got a new Seed movie announcement before Hathaways Flash 2

[@GundamSeltsam]

I feel like the IBO mg line just got shelved until people got pissed about the fact there is none it was my first gundam show (the one that dragged me in) and is still my favorite and it sucks that we don’t see ones like Bael, kimaris vidar, barbatos lupus, Gusion remake etc. it’s so annoying because they have the engineering basically already done all they need to do is just print armor and maybe a new head like Bandai Step up lil bro

[@citrusjuicebox]

I think part of the hesitation for that is due to IBO's weak reception in Japan, but apparently it was strong in the west. Perhaps Vidar finally came out after we've "proven our worth."

[@rockatrion]

MG AOZ almost broke me... imagine they make MG Woundwort variants... but bandai hates money and no Woundwort MG for anyone :(

[@missmilky6677]

I thought the hg bolinoak sammahn was a signal that things were going to go back to the way they were, boy was I wrong

[@citrusjuicebox]

Who knows? Maybe the new factory will mean a steady stream of gunpla will return, and maybe this most recent price hike across the board will be an anomaly. We can still hope.

[@missmilky6677]

@@citrusjuicebox why make expensive gunpla kits when you can consistently produce cheaper 30mm kits

[@icdeadpipol]

never picked up any WfM kits due to the excessive use of C-clips which often easily wears out. Also noticed the price increase for newer kits with the new Seed Freedom kits nearly hitting the cost of a Master Grade while the EG Strike is sold out, the Striker pack price is almost the cost of a full HGUC kit. Just glad to maintain a backlog and will probably just clear them slowly.

[@Default653]

To me WfM C-clips seem to be stronger than EGs or 30MM kits. My Schwarzette and Demi Trainer that I've posed as much as one of my 30MM kits are way more solid. Only time will tell for years and years in the future though.

[@achaoPSG]

@@Default653 C clips of those WfM kits is an overblown issue imo. I've yet to see Bandai recall products because the C-Clips massively failed.

[@bushybeardedbear]

​@@achaoPSG Companies won't recall products based on user wear and tear.

[@achaoPSG]

@@bushybeardedbear That's my point. People acting so outraged at C-Clips you'd think it's a failure on Bandai during the production process. C-clips were a design choice that works well enough.

[@bushybeardedbear]

@@achaoPSG I guess I can see how you meant that. Wasn't clear but I get you now.

[@EligosIV]

This year really got me to start turning away from gunpla as a main hobby. The best thing we got this year was the MG Narrative Ver Ka imo. We just got boring SEED HGs and announcements for a shit ton of Metal Builds. I don't really mind all the P-Bandai stuff because they're a bit easier to get nowadays, but even P-Bandai releases are less gunpla and more overpriced shirts, bags, jackets, etc. It's just overall been a stagnant year for gunpla that it boggles my mind how the two years of lockdowns seemed more eventful than this year alone.

[@ensign-x8x]

I think it's more you not liking SEED. Those new HGs for SEED Freedom are amazingly engineered.

[@EligosIV]

@@ensign-x8x I don't mind SEED, but it really got annoying to see mostly just SEED releases this year. They could have reprinted a lot of more sought-after kits like the HG Legilis or the MG Turn X. At the end of the day, this is all opinion. It is good to see some Build Fighters/Divers reprints, though.

[@ensign-x8x]

@EligosIV That's a fair point, seeing alot of kits in a less than a year for a single timeline can get repetitive.

[@urang395]

>Make new Gundam G kit >new mold >Pb shit

[@thatonequeergundamfan71]

which is mostly why i don't buy any bandai kits that much anymore I just wait for another bootleg company to bootleg it Im not wasting 2500 pesos on a zaku 2.0 im not wasting 3k on a gelgoog 2.0 Its not my responsibility to GAF about bandais copyright and other stuff If you literally can't give something i expect in a high price point then im not buying it im looking for something else and the issue with this is the gundam fandom makes it so much of a big issue with its corporate d riding which enables bandai to keep doing this making everything so much worse for everyone like me

[@DomVonDoom]

Bunnies, Belleview and Bitchin'! Jk You're right Citrus. Hasbro is one foot in the grave as well. So many expensive mistakes passed off to the customer.

[@MrGrandure]

Tha ghost rider car. Lol

[@paraclonebasedtrooper8225]

I kinda stop caring about new releases. Especially their "Suprised" announcements. Because, everyone knew that the Announcement that everyone is hype for is either a Suit we got for like, the 50th Time, Another Unicorn, Freedom or the RX or a Suit that nobody cared. Don't forget the Pricing too. It just feels they overcharge alot of the Kits especially the Remastered Seed kits from 2002. Why would I spend 15$ on a Kit that has little no Articulation and Color Accurate. When the same price, I can get a Build Diver 00 that has better Articulation and color separation? Not to mention alot of the Great ones are still out of print and shouldn't cost more than 30$. Idk if this was the Sellers part or Bandai's Part. Despite the Weird Price range they put and been a Fan since 2015. I just Buy HGs when I'm bored and wanna excuse to build and hearing OST that I'm itching to listen. Gunpla is like what happen to transformers. They overcharge Items that shouldn't be over 20s and they barely give the characters we want.

[@RX-79Ez-8]

This business model of drip feeding model kits is extremely off putting to hobbyists. It's a common theme I've seen in the last couple of years, produce less and charge more. I see Bandai putting more resources into Metal Build. Who knows when they next PG will roll out if there will be one.

[@geriouano3419]

I think the 30MM kits area taking a huge chunk of their production

[@SmileySadFaceHD]

As someone who is relatively new to the hobby some of the decisions baffle me. I mainly collect RG because of the limited space I have and I would love to build a Freedom. But why the hell does a straight up better version of the RG exists but only as a Gundam Base exclusive? Why do they have a better version already out but they keep producing the famously shitty and fragile version from before as the product available to people?

[@SuppleBun]

at least your bnuys are cute and make u happy

[@rihamjilani9245]

I rode the hype on WFM before, by retroactively analyzing why I bought them, it was not because I liked the show that much, it was just because of the hype(plus the c clips were horrible). This says alot for my experience with the hobby, Ive been predominantly collecting just UC and Ive been enjoying it, but yeah, I would have loved new kits, especially zakus, not PBandai. Pbandai kits are hard to come by here in my country, plus most kits are marked up to prizes that I dont think are acceptable.